Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has taken legal action against a 73-year-old father and his 40-year-old son for producing deepfake pornographic videos featuring her face superimposed onto another person’s body. Meloni is seeking symbolic damages of €100,000, intending to donate the sum to support women affected by domestic violence.
According to reports, Meloni is scheduled to appear before the Sassari court in Sardinia on July 2. The lewd video in question was uploaded to an American pornographic website in 2020, garnering millions of views before Meloni assumed office as Prime Minister.
The lawsuit aims to send a message to victims of such abuse of power, encouraging them not to hesitate in pursuing legal action, the Prime Minister’s lawyer stated. This legal action comes amid growing concerns about deepfake technology, which allows for the digital manipulation of images or videos to superimpose faces onto different bodies.
Deepfakes have garnered attention for their potential to spread political disinformation and contribute to online sexual harassment. Reports suggest that 96% of deepfake material online is pornographic. Recent notable instances include a manipulated video of Queen Elizabeth delivering a fake Christmas address in 2020 and fake images of former President Donald Trump posing with Black voters.
Although deepfakes are not explicitly illegal in Europe under the EU’s new AI regulations, Italy plans to introduce legislation to regulate AI later this month. In a related development, Meta faced calls to update its policy on deepfake content after a manipulated video of US President Joe Biden went viral. The video, depicting Biden voting with his adult granddaughter and falsely edited to suggest inappropriate behavior, was reported as hate speech to Meta and its oversight board.
